Sony-Fox World War II drama had been set to open Dec. 18

Move came two days after Clooney announced that the film would not be ready in time to make its original Dec. 18 release date — forcing Sony to ditch its awards campaign. The studio had already begun marketing the film as an Oscar contender with two theatrical trailers and had hired an awards consultant to promote the film.

“Monuments Men,” which is based on the book by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter, tells the true story of a motley crew of historians and art dealers, who were sent behind enemy lines to rescue stolen art from the Nazis. The film is a Sony-Fox co-production with Sony handling the U.S. release.

Clooney, who also co-wrote the film with Grant Heslov, toplines an ensemble including Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin.

“Monuments Men” will open against Warner Bros.’ family comedy “Lego.”

As a result of dating “Monuments Men” on Feb. 7, Sony is also moving its “RoboCop” reboot back. The co-production with MGM has left the Feb. 7 date and will launch on Feb 12.

And with Dec. 18 vacated, Sony has also decided to go earlier with the Sony-Annapurna Pictures’ “American Hustle,” moving it up a week from its planned Christmas launch date. The David O. Russell drama, starring Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence, will now open wide on the original “Monuments Men” date of Dec. 18 after debuting in limited release on December 13.

I’ve been a fan of Clooney’s previous directing / producing efforts – but from the trailer this looks like it’s painting by numbers. Script feels like 1990s standard fare and look/art direction etc seems run of the mill. No wonder it has been pushed outside the Academy range to a slot that is guaranteeing it to fade away fast.